Kelly Pavlik said that he killed himself to make 160. While I know that the Pavlik camp is prone to excuse-making, I think the 178 in-ring weight bears that out. Kelz doesn't have that body type to easily strip weight.
One of the contributors to Kel's failures in the last one-third of the Martinez fight may have been fatigue due to making weight. Of course, i am taking no credit away from Sergio, as Maravilla has long been one of my favourite fighters (unlike some of you bandwagoners).
At 168, I see Kelly having tons of problems with the guys there. Pavlik's big advantage at 160 was his size and strength. That goes away when he moves to SMW. Additionally, you would be making a slow fighter even slower.
Ward? Too good an all-around fighter for Kelly. SOG is too fast, too diirty, has the movement that confounds Pavlik, and is just plain wrong.
Froch: Better fight for Kelly. The Cobra isn't the most mobile cat, but he is tough and confident.
Dirrell: Pavlik would make a good fight for an earlier version of Dirrell. But the post-Abraham version is too fast, smarter, and has gained a ton of confidence.
Abraham: would be interesting to see. I haven't decided if Abe's tortoise defense and low workrate would play right into KP's hands. Plus, AA is short.
Green: If he can stop staring at his feet, too much movement. I need to see his next fight to be sure.
Kessler: He needs a bounceback. Still, I'd pick him to beat Pav.
Calzaghe: After seeing Hopkins and Martinez, is there any question that the Slappin' Welshman would have shut Kelly out? Lacy-stylee?
Bute: Two fights in a row where he has stopped guys by throwing punches from odd angles. A much better fighter than a year ago. I still question Lucian's stamina and chin, but he could confuse Pavlik with movement and boxing ability.
During post-fight interviews, DiBella said that they would HAPPILY give Kelly a rematch immediately. And Pavlik indicated that they would want to exercise that clause. My guess is that was just hurt-talk and Team Pav goes back and takes a really good look and decides to put Sergio in the rear view.
Thoughts?
One of the contributors to Kel's failures in the last one-third of the Martinez fight may have been fatigue due to making weight. Of course, i am taking no credit away from Sergio, as Maravilla has long been one of my favourite fighters (unlike some of you bandwagoners).
At 168, I see Kelly having tons of problems with the guys there. Pavlik's big advantage at 160 was his size and strength. That goes away when he moves to SMW. Additionally, you would be making a slow fighter even slower.
Ward? Too good an all-around fighter for Kelly. SOG is too fast, too diirty, has the movement that confounds Pavlik, and is just plain wrong.
Froch: Better fight for Kelly. The Cobra isn't the most mobile cat, but he is tough and confident.
Dirrell: Pavlik would make a good fight for an earlier version of Dirrell. But the post-Abraham version is too fast, smarter, and has gained a ton of confidence.
Abraham: would be interesting to see. I haven't decided if Abe's tortoise defense and low workrate would play right into KP's hands. Plus, AA is short.
Green: If he can stop staring at his feet, too much movement. I need to see his next fight to be sure.
Kessler: He needs a bounceback. Still, I'd pick him to beat Pav.
Calzaghe: After seeing Hopkins and Martinez, is there any question that the Slappin' Welshman would have shut Kelly out? Lacy-stylee?
Bute: Two fights in a row where he has stopped guys by throwing punches from odd angles. A much better fighter than a year ago. I still question Lucian's stamina and chin, but he could confuse Pavlik with movement and boxing ability.
During post-fight interviews, DiBella said that they would HAPPILY give Kelly a rematch immediately. And Pavlik indicated that they would want to exercise that clause. My guess is that was just hurt-talk and Team Pav goes back and takes a really good look and decides to put Sergio in the rear view.
Thoughts?
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